governmentshttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/taxonomy/term/9222/all
enUK setting 'dangerous precedent' on human rights says Amnestyhttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/22770
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<p><strong></strong>Amnesty International has warned the UK is setting a dangerous precedent to the world by undermining human rights on a number of fronts, in its annual report on the state of the world’s human rights published yesterday.</p>
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<p>Amnesty International has warned the UK is setting a dangerous precedent to the world by undermining human rights on a number of fronts, in its annual report on the state of the world’s human rights published yesterday (24 February).</p>
<p>The world’s leading human rights organisation warned of a global pattern whereby the institutions set up to help protect rights are being undermined by governments attempting to evade oversight of their domestic records, with the UK singled out for particular criticism given its plans to repeal the Human Rights Act.</p>
<p>Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said: “The UK is setting a dangerous precedent to the world on human rights.</p>
<p>“There’s no doubt that the downgrading of human rights by this government is a gift to dictators the world over and fatally undermines our ability to call on other countries to uphold rights and laws.</p>
<p>“People around the world are still fighting to get basic human rights and we should not let politicians take our hard-won rights away with the stroke of a pen.”</p>
<p>Amnesty’s report follows similar concerns raised about the repeal of the Human Rights Act by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Committee.</p>
<p>Other concerns raised about the UK in the Amnesty global report include:</p>
<p><strong>Refugee crisis in Europe </strong>– <strong>UK refusing to share responsibility </strong></p>
<p>The report notes the UK’s continued opposition to participation in EU efforts to share responsibility for the increasing number of refugees arriving in Europe. Even with the significantly expanded Syrian resettlement scheme announced by the Prime Minister in September, the UK is receiving far fewer refugees than others in Europe. Amnesty is calling for an expansion in the rules which allow refugees to join family members in the UK, so that more relatives can be reunited with loved ones already here, as one means for the UK to better share responsibility at a time when globally the number of people forcibly displaced due to conflict and persecution has so greatly increased.</p>
<p><strong>Concerns over ‘power-grab’ surveillance laws</strong></p>
<p>The government’s proposed Investigatory Powers Bill has faced relentless criticism, including from Amnesty and other human rights organisations, tech companies including Apple, the UN and two parliamentary committees. Concerns included the lack of adequate judicial oversight, concerns over uncontrolled data sharing with international governments, queries over the necessity and practicalities of mass surveillance (so-called ‘bulk collection’) and serious questions over the legality of the programme. Amnesty has called for a substantial redrafting of the proposed surveillance bill.</p>
<p><strong>Arms to Saudi Arabia coalition used in Yemen atrocities</strong></p>
<p>Since a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in the conflict in Yemen nearly a year ago, thousands of Yemeni civilians have been killed yet the UK government has continued to issue billions of pounds’ worth of licences for the export of arms&nbsp;– including combat aircraft and bombs&nbsp;– from the UK to Saudi Arabia. Amnesty has repeatedly called on the UK government to suspend all sales of arms to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners which could be used to commit human rights violations in Yemen. This call has been echoed by the parliamentary International Development Committee, while a group of leading international law experts have issued a comprehensive legal opinion showing that continued UK weapons exports to Saudi Arabia are in breach of the UK’s own laws and international laws.</p>
<p>As well as suspending such arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the UK should support calls for a UN inquiry into the Yemen conflict.</p>
<p><strong>Global overview</strong></p>
<p>Amnesty is warning of trend of undermining human rights from governments deliberately attacking, ignoring, underfunding, and neglecting institutions set up to protect rights.</p>
<p><strong>UN failing to fulfil its role </strong></p>
<p>The Syrian conflict is one example of the catastrophic human consequences of the UN’s failure to fulfil its vital role in upholding rights and international law and ensuring accountability. The incoming UN Secretary General, to be elected this year, must tackle governments that have wilfully thwarted UN action to prevent mass atrocities.</p>
<p>Examples of national attacks on human rights and the institutions which are there to protect them include:</p>
<ul>
<li>China: escalating crackdown against human rights activists including mass arrests of lawyers and a series of sweeping laws in the name of ‘national security’.</li>
<li>Egypt: the arrest of thousands, including peaceful critics, in a ruthless crackdown in the name of national security, the prolonged detention of hundreds without charge or trial and the sentencing of hundreds of others to death.</li>
<li>Hungary: sealing off its borders to thousands of refugees in dire need; and obstructing collective regional attempts to help them.</li>
<li>Israel: maintaining its military blockade of Gaza and therefore collective punishment of the 1.8 million inhabitants there, as well as failing, like Palestine, to comply with a UN call to conduct credible investigations into war crimes committed during the 2014 Gaza conflict.</li>
<li>Gambia: torture, enforced disappearances and the criminalisation of LGBTI people; and utter refusal to co-operate with the UN and regional human rights mechanisms on issues including freedom of expression, enforced disappearance and the death penalty.</li>
<li>Kenya: extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and discrimination against refugees in its counter-terrorism operations; and attempts to undermine the International Criminal Court and its ability to pursue justice.</li>
<li>Pakistan: the severe human rights failings of its response to the horrific Peshawar school massacre including its relentless use of the death penalty; and its policy on international NGOs giving authorities the power to monitor them and close them down if they are considered to be “against the interests” of the country.</li>
<li>Russia: repressive use of vague national security and anti-extremism legislation and its concerted attempts to silence civil society in the country; its shameful refusal to acknowledge civilian killings in Syria and its callous moves to block Security Council action on Syria.</li>
<li>Saudi Arabia: brutally cracking down on those who dared to advocate reform or criticise the authorities; and committing war crimes in the bombing campaign it has led in Yemen while obstructing the establishment of a UN-led inquiry into violations by all sides in the conflict.</li>
<li>Syria: killing thousands of civilians in direct and indiscriminate attacks with barrel bombs and other weaponry and through acts of torture in detention; and enforcing lengthy sieges of civilian areas, blocking international aid from reaching starving civilians.</li>
<li>USA: the continuing operation of the Guantanamo detention centre, an example of the grave consequences of its ¨global war on terror”; and its failure to prosecute those responsible for torture and enforced disappearances.</li>
</ul>
<p>* Download Amnesty's annual report <a target="_blank" title="Amnesty annual report 2015" href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/2552/2016/en/">here</a></p>
<p>* Amnesty International <a href="https://www.amnesty.org.uk/" title="https://www.amnesty.org.uk/">https://www.amnesty.org.uk/</a></p>
<p>[Ekk/4]</p>
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Peace and NonviolencePeople and PowerNews BriefAmnesty Internationalgovernmentshuman rightshuman rights abusesUK governmentUK NewsThu, 25 Feb 2016 10:02:38 +0000agency reporter22770 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukUK churches urge governments to increase aid for Syria's peoplehttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/22685
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<p>Four major UK Churches have called on governments to provide substantial new funding to alleviate the suffering of the people of Syria including refugees in the neighbouring countries of Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.</p>
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<p>Four major UK Churches have called on governments to provide substantial new funding to alleviate the suffering of the people of Syria including refugees in the neighbouring countries of Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.</p>
<p>The call from the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church comes on the eve of the 2016 international pledging conference for Syria, taking place in London.</p>
<p>In 2015, following the last international appeal by the United Nations (UN), less than 60 per cent of the required funds were raised.</p>
<p>The UN have stated that a further $7.7 billion will be required in aid to effectively help the vulnerable people in Syria and support Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, who host the vast majority of Syria's 4.6 million refugees.</p>
<p>Ethnic and religious minorities, including Christians, in Syria are particularly vulnerable to attack. The four churches maintain close links with partner churches in the region.</p>
<p>John Ellis, Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church said:&nbsp; "We welcome the UK's commitment to aid for Syria, and our Government's initiative in hosting this international pledging conference in London. We want every refugee child in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to have the opportunity to attend school - but this aim, as outlined by the United Nations, needs funding. It is our sincere hope that the international community as a whole will substantially increase its commitment to a situation that is worsening as we speak. Increased funding will mean that those currently affected by the hostilities will not have to suffer even more in the years to come."</p>
<p>The Rt Rev Dr Angus Morrison, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, who has recently returned from a visit to Egypt where he met with Syrian refugees, said: "To see close up the human catastrophe which is unfolding in Syria and the surrounding region, is harrowing, distressing and deeply humbling. We have to do more, meeting immediate need within Syria and the wider region whilst redoubling our efforts for a lasting and just peace."</p>
<p>Warning that churches have been targeted even while full of worshipers on a Sunday, Dr Mary Mikhael, spokesperson for the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon, said: "As the Syrian tragedy continues to unfold, the Christian community is deeply concerned about its future. Churches and ancient cathedrals in Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, and other places are being purposely targeted by armed groups, and many have been destroyed. Will Syria, once considered the cradle of Christianity, become empty of the nation's Christian community? This is our deep fear. Over 1.2 million Syrians have fled into nearby Lebanon and continue to endure unimaginable hardship. The Christian communities of Syria and Lebanon appeal for peace, justice and relief for the millions displaced and refugees."</p>
<p>The Rev Jenni Entrican, President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, said: "Two thousand years ago not so far from Jordan and Syria, Mary, Joseph and Jesus were displaced. They were forced to rely on the good will of those they did not know and their needs were met by the generosity of strangers. The biblical story of Jesus' birth reminds us that behind the huge figures of displacement are stories of real people who through no fault of their own find themselves innocent victims of war."</p>
<p>The Rev Steve Wild, President of the Methodist Conference, added: "The bombing and shelling of civilian areas by the Syrian Government and other groups has caused immense death and suffering. The disregard for civilian life has been shocking; it is callous and totally unacceptable even in war."&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the light of the recent deaths from hunger in the Syrian town of Madaya, the Mr Wild continued: "It is a fundamental principle under international humanitarian law that those fighting a conflict must not restrict the delivery of aid to victims. The parties to the conflict who are meeting in Geneva must tackle this issue. They have a responsibility to ensure that life-saving aid gets to all in need."&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp; This challenge to governments follows on from a <a href="http://methodist-news.org.uk/BVI-4096A-JXH5RF-1YP2CB-1/c.aspx"> combined statement on Syria</a> issued in December 2015, in which the same four Churches challenged the divisive rhetoric that sets communities apart and committed themselves to prayer for those suffering conflict and for those tasked with negotiating solutions and bringing security.</p>
<p>* Baptist Union of Great Britain <a href="http://www.baptist.org.uk/" title="http://www.baptist.org.uk/">http://www.baptist.org.uk/</a></p>
<p>*Church of Scotland <a href="http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/home" title="http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/home">http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/home</a></p>
<p>* Methodist Church in Britain <a href="http://www.methodist.org.uk/" title="http://www.methodist.org.uk/">http://www.methodist.org.uk/</a></p>
<p>* United Reformed Church <a href="http://www.urc.org.uk/" title="http://www.urc.org.uk/">http://www.urc.org.uk/</a></p>
<p>[Ekk/4]</p>
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People and PowerNews BriefBaptist Union of Great Britainchurch of scotlanddisplaced peoplegovernmentshumanitarian aidmethodist church in britainrefugeesSyriaUK Newsunited reformed churchThu, 04 Feb 2016 10:40:37 +0000agency reporter22685 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukRallying for refugees and the workings of the Spirithttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/22076
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<h1 class="title">Rallying for refugees and the workings of the Spirit</h1>
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<p><a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/22076" target="_blank">read more</a></p>Living EconomyNews Briefdavid cameronfaith groupsgovernmentsmarchrefugeeswelcomeBlogSun, 13 Sep 2015 23:00:00 +0000Savi Hensman22076 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukAll power to the civil servants?http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16648
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<p>Personality politics, half-baked solutions and populist pretensions by tired political fixers are being used to disguise real, significant problems with local government, says Graeme Smith. He hopes that the shallow rhetoric of ‘people know best’ can suffer a similar fate to that of elected mayors, in favour of renewed democracy and a decent appreciation of expert knowledge in its proper place.</p>
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<p>Birmingham was recently one of eight cities that voted “No” to the idea of a directly elected city mayor. As a resident of the city I am greatly relieved. We shall be spared the ‘Ken and Boris’ show, or worse, some pale imitation of London’s celebrity politics – Ken and Boris-lite. </p>
<p>There is too much ‘celebrity’ in national politics. It is possible, and sometimes good, that individuals represent and embody political ideas. Aung San Suu Kyi is a good example. But what was on offer in Birmingham was not an iconic personality-led revitalisation of local government. Those touted as potential candidates looked like politicians who had failed to make the Westminster premier league. </p>
<p>Being relieved, I am in something of a minority, as it is clear that most people did not really care one way or another. In the end the big winner was apathy. </p>
<p>The campaigns were lack-lustre. There seemed no good reason to have a directly elected mayor. The notion that a dynamic personality could be of economic benefit to the city is equally applicable to a good council leader. </p>
<p>No one seriously believed the ‘directly’ in ‘directly elected mayor’ would create a new breed of accountable, listening, promise-keeping politicians. And perhaps most seriously for the yes campaign it just looked like another layer of expensive bureaucracy proposed at a time when we are all suffering from government cuts. So an uninspiring, probably expensive idea proposed at the wrong time.</p>
<p>However the idea of a directly elected mayor arose because of specific problems within our political culture and although having a mayor might not be the answer, the questions still remain. Two problems stand out. </p>
<p>The first has been often discussed and is the problem of local government power. It is very difficult to get good people involved in local politics because all the major decisions are made at national level. Local politics is reduced to the status of a training post for those who want to get into the real business of national politics. </p>
<p>Furthermore, local elections are a way for the voter to comment on the performance of the government. So this time around it looks like Tory voters stayed at home in protest at what they see as Cameron’s failures. As a result, Cameron’s position is weakened whilst good hard-working local councillors lose their seats. In Labour’s time in government, they suffered the same fate. </p>
<p>None of which is any incentive to dedicate yourself to local government. You know that regardless of the hours you put into reading reports, listening to constituents complaints at regular evening surgeries, attending dull and relentless meetings, and building local alliances and movements for change, one hefty government scandal and you are out.</p>
<p>The second problem is less well-known but equally serious. Directly elected mayors short-circuit local party politics and also local government civil servants. They imply an uncluttered relationship between ‘ordinary people’ and the ultimate decision-maker, in this case the mayor. </p>
<p>This model of government pretends two things. First,that politicians are monarch-magicians who wave their magic wands to effect substantial social and/or economic change. That this is a fallacy is demonstrated by the rueful political memoirs of Prime Ministers. </p>
<p>Second, it pretends that ordinary people are experts in the common good. It is the same fallacy that proposes patients know best how to run hospitals or that parents know best how to run the education system. </p>
<p>Parents and patients know well whether the service or utility is working for them. They know whether little Simran can read yet or whether Uncle George’s hip is better after the operation. They can protest when it is not and they can vote for politicians who promise to make schools or hospitals work better. But they are not as well qualified as administrators and civil servants at making the whole work for the majority. </p>
<p>We need managers and administrators to work the bureaucracies which ultimately serve the common good. And we need local politicians who are experts in directing and checking local bureaucracies so that the interests of all in society are served. The system of local government we have is not ideal or perfect by any means. But it cannot be bypassed without a serious undermining of our democracy. </p>
<p>We should be very suspicious of politicians who seem to want to give up power to ordinary people. It looks too much like a rhetorical justification for keeping it themselves and removing the real threat to their authority, local experts.</p>
<p>I know “All power to the bureaucrats” is hardly an inspiring slogan. The daily grind of running the system is hardly the place for glorious political rhetoric. But there is no democratic short-cut which bypasses good, accountable local government. ‘Directly’ elected mayors have thankfully been rejected in Birmingham. </p>
<p>My hope is that the shallow rhetoric of ‘people know best’ can also suffer a similar fate in favour of a decent appreciation of expert knowledge in its proper place and a renewal of local democracy. </p>
<p>---------</p>
<p>(c) <strong>Graeme Smith</strong> is Senior Lecturer in Practical Theology at the University of Chichester. He has worked previously at St Michael’s College, Llandaff and Cardiff University, and Oxford Brookes University. An Ekklesia associate, his research interests are in contemporary social and political theology. He is editor of the journal Political Theology and author of the books <em>A Short History of Secularism</em> and <em>Oxford 1937: The Universal Christian Council for Life and Work Conference</em>, as well as academic articles on Thatcherism, Blair, Richard Rorty and Pragmatism, and Red Toryism.</p>
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Living EconomyNews Briefbirminghamcivil serviceelected mayorsgovernmentslocal governmentlondon mayormayor of LondonFeaturesThu, 17 May 2012 08:24:42 +0000Graeme Smith16648 at http://www.ekklesia.co.uk